Stir Up One Of These Yummy Rice Khichdi Recipes Today, Perfect Comfort Food To Warm You Up

As the rains are phasing out and winter makes its presence felt, try these yummy rice khichdi recipes, comfort food that can warm you from inside.

If pakoras and bhajiyas over a cup of brewed chai are synonymous with monsoons then so is rice khichdi, perfect too for the oncoming winters. This easy but wholesome dish rules the lives of us Indians.

The slight chills of air that the rains or the cold that winters bring are the best when paired with spicy and tangy food to relish. Whether you are outdoors or indoors your stomach will thank you for a plate of delicious hot food. Most of the families prepare this hearty one pot mealwhich can be relished while watching the rain and feeling the chill of cold air on your face.

But with rains also comes the feeling of laziness for us women when all we want to do is just cozy up on our couch and enjoy a hot cup of tea, if only it was served at our step (sounds heavenly, doesn’t it?). Cooking or even stepping into the kitchen makes us feel sloppy that is when this yummy thought of simple khichdi recipes comes as a saving grace.

Easy to prepare and light on stomach, khichdi is nothing but a blend of rice and dal cooked to a smooth texture with very less or no spices. Each household has its own variation of this wonder meal. Read on to find out few such easy recipes.

Dal khichdi recipe

This is the most simple and common one when it comes to khichdi recipes. Most people combine two dals with rice whereas others stick to only one. My personal recipe for this is the mix of masoor dal and moong dal with any kind of rice.

How to make

To one cup of rice add 1/4th cup of yellow moong dal, 1/4th cup of masoor dal. Wash thoroughly and soak them for about half an hour. This is optional. You can pressure cook or cook on open heat.

Take 1 tbsp oil in a thick bottomed pan, add 1tsp cumin seeds (jeera) and mustard seeds. Add 2 red chillies and 1 sprig of curry leaves to it when the mustard seeds start spluttering. Add in a pinch of asafoetida. This gives a good aroma and helps in digestion.

Pour 4 cups of water to this and salt to your taste. Let it come to boil.

To the boiling water add 1tsp of turmeric powder (haldi) and 1tsp of garam masala.

At this stage add the drained lentils (dal) and rice to the boiling hot water. Cover it with a lid and cook until soft. If you wish to pressure cook, cook for 3 whistles. This gives the khichdi a soft texture.

Remove the lid of cooker when the pressure subsides, dish out the khichdi, and drizzle with 2 tbsp of ghee.

One more variation for this dal khichdi recipe is by using green moong dal instead of the yellow moong. The ratio for this khichdi should be one is to one i.e equal parts of rice and dal. The quantity of water can be 3 cups for 1 cup of rice and dal.

This is even healthier as the green moong dal is lighter on stomach and easier to digest.

Vegetable masala khichdi

This khichdi as the name suggests is a spicier one with added vegetables. This can be a full wholesome meal in itself as it has all the ingredients commonly used in our everyday cooking.

Ven pongal or ghee khichdi recipe

This is the South Indian version of khichdi. Khichdi as such is not native to any particular state. It’s just that each one makes it different as per the tastes of their region either by adding or by reducing the ingredients used.

Women down south prepare this khichdi or pongal mostly with the newly harvested rice. The most unique part about pongal is that unlike the regular khichdi there are hardly any spices added to it not even turmeric powder but it just melts in your mouth and of course the aroma of ghee keeps you wanting more.

How to prepare

To prepare ven pongal take 1 cup of rice (preferably new rice) 1 cup of yellow moong dal. Dry roast the dal and rice separately until they turn light brown. Make sure not to over roast both. A little under done is also fine.

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